Amazon Dash Button • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#391

Post by gravity13 » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:01 PM UTC

na85 wrote: post #312

gravity13 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

| but I can't help but scream "why??" Because it's a tangible reminder that you need to buy new X and it removes all the barriers entirely to that. It's wildly convenient. Might I remind you: - Locate mobile device - Swipe/Unlock mobile device - Locate Safari App/Amazon app - Tap and wait for Safari to load - Access amazon.com - Type in 'X' - Locate results and click on option - Press 'one click purchase' for irony v…

Do you really think that ordering something online from the comfort of your couch, in your underwear, is so inconvenient that you need a magic button to press when you run out of laundry detergent? You buy the big jug of high-efficiency stuff that's good for something like 100 loads, that means you need new detergent what, 5 times a year? Or are you just being hyperbolic? I don't know about you, but I make a trip to…

The future is gonna happen whether you're a part of it or not.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#392

Post by kamaal » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:01 PM UTC

na85 wrote: post #312

gravity13 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

| but I can't help but scream "why??" Because it's a tangible reminder that you need to buy new X and it removes all the barriers entirely to that. It's wildly convenient. Might I remind you: - Locate mobile device - Swipe/Unlock mobile device - Locate Safari App/Amazon app - Tap and wait for Safari to load - Access amazon.com - Type in 'X' - Locate results and click on option - Press 'one click purchase' for irony v…

Do you really think that ordering something online from the comfort of your couch, in your underwear, is so inconvenient that you need a magic button to press when you run out of laundry detergent? You buy the big jug of high-efficiency stuff that's good for something like 100 loads, that means you need new detergent what, 5 times a year? Or are you just being hyperbolic? I don't know about you, but I make a trip to…

Every single invention in the human history has been about making things easy. Including the very invention of the wheel itself.

Did the early humans really need wheels, when they were already fit enough to run and carry weights?

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#393

Post by _of » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:02 PM UTC

cylinder wrote: post #271

smoothgrips wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely would not give up amazon for free education, health care, etc... Those socialists implementations come at a very high cost. Yes, our current system is not well, but it's better than the government taking 60% of my earned income.

I don't think you actually have any idea what personal tax rates are in these countries and are just repeating Tea Party nonsense. If you live in CA and NY you are paying European level taxes and getting basically nothing in return.

Yes, this is a chocking fact I realized when I moved from Sweden to New York. In the former I payed ~30% in tax, whereas here in NY I pay the same. Because you have several levels of taxes in the U.S.: federal tax, income tax, state tax, and city tax, and in addition taxes like FICA, etc.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#394

Post by knightofmars » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:03 PM UTC

gus_massa wrote: post #349

scott_s wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This button isn't about saving time, it's about preventing the instances of not having something when you need it. The moment when you realize you need more of something is typically when you're using it. If you can literally just hit a button to order more, that's a significant change from having to do something else to order more.

My problem is with some items that I buy only twice a month, like bath soap or mayonnaise. I notice that it's about get empty (or it's already empty :() and I put them in my mental to-buy list. If I'm lucky I'll remember them the next time that I go to the supermarket. And probably also the following time and a few more times until I realize that I got a lot of it and I remove the item from the list. So I don't have…

I switched to buying things of this nature in bulk. You're more prone to ordering more of something if you realize you're down to the last 3 out of 10. That gives you 3 more tries to make sure you order it.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#395

Post by danellis » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:03 PM UTC

mikeash wrote: post #211

kristofferR wrote: post #144

This makes me envious of you Americans. Here in Norway online shopping involves finding an online store that sells what you need (there's no site that sells everything, like Amazon, here), going through a cumbersome sign-up/payment process, paying a lot of money for the shipping costs, waiting several days and having to go to the post office unless the package is really small (or if you're willing to pay even more fo…

I think it's ridiculous just because it clearly involved a lot of effort to solve a problem that doesn't really need solving. The choice isn't between a button and the massive hassle you describe. The choice is between a button and ordering the product on your smartphone in ten seconds, or picking up the product at the grocery store the next time you're there. How often do you need laundry detergent? Every two weeks?…

Maybe you can order something in ten seconds if you really try, but it's not really about the time, it's about the experience. If I go to the Amazon web site, I'm bombarded with a LOT of irrelevant, distracting information. Having a button next to my washing machine means reordering barely even interrupts the flow of what I'm doing.

Clearly Amazon understands that human aspect, and credit to them for not getting stuck on the idea that if I have to go to the web site, they can up-sell while I'm there.

I don't get household supplies from Amazon now, but this is making me consider it just as soon as I've compared prices.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#396

Post by mthmohan » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:04 PM UTC

IMHO, this is a long game. What if every branded product (or ones that cared enough or could afford it) shipped with a dash button or was given one at checkout? What would brands pay for that? Customers wouldn't have to. And yes, I see the anti-incentive for a Safeway to disintermediate themselves unless Amazon was the delivery agent anyway. I can see brands willing to try this out. Given the amount of money spent on promotions and coupons with no clear, trackable value, this seems like something they would get behind once some basic metrics are in place.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#397

Post by aendruk » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:05 PM UTC

ovi256 wrote: post #42

afandian wrote: post #26

The video reads like some kind of dystopian consumer hell. Everything comes in a packet from a trusted brand who is taking care of you. Consume! Consume! Consume! See you useless you are when you can't consume! Your whole day is ruined. Good job we've got your back. We'll send you some more of those precious packets.

>Everything comes in a packet from a trusted brand who is taking are of you. And how is this different from the present ? Everything comes non-packets ? From an untrusted brand ? That dystopian future sounds better somehow.

> Everything comes in non-packets? From an untrusted brand?

Close; bulk ingredients and reusable containers, from a minimally branded supplier to which I have no loyalty.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#398

Post by icebraining » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:07 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #323

icebraining wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if it's Wifi, an ESP8266 only uses 78µA in deep sleep mode, which is how these buttons will spend 99.99% of the time, so it could last more an year on a single AA battery.

"only" 78 microamps is a LOT of current for ultra low power applications like this. On top of that, ~~the ESP8266 doesn't seem to implement wifi, it's just 2.4ghz general purpose radio.~~ There is definitely some cleverness happening here that allows them to get this to where it is. I'd love to get one just to tear it down.

No, the ESP8266 does implement Wifi. And not only that, as it can also run custom code, so it could be the only IC in the package.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#399

Post by kamaal » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:08 PM UTC

vtlynch wrote: post #375

enraged_camel wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but ordering stuff from Amazon on my iPhone takes way more than 10 seconds. I have to: 1. Find my iPhone (I don't carry it with me around the house) 2. Enter my PIN to unlock it 3. Open Safari 4. Navigate to Amazon.com 5. Type in their search bar and browse through the results 6. Click on the product I want 7. Add it to my cart 8. Go to check out and confirm settings (e.g. delivery speed) 9. Place order It's a…

Wow you are right! It sounds so convenient when you manufacture a description to make it sound like we are currently going through 9 arduous steps instead of opening a website!

It's not about opening a website, its about having technology integrated into your workflow such that you don't have to use a computer to finish a task.

There was an article posted about usage of bands in Disney world. The idea is to have technology integrated with you such that the idea of interacting with a generic computer shouldn't exist.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#400

Post by m3mnoch » Tue, Mar 31, 2015, 6:08 PM UTC

this actually reminds me a bit of the amazon echo in that it is completely and totally household dependent.

i have an echo and think it's completely amazing. my friend, basically has siri in his pocket and doesn't understand my crazy-love. the difference is that he's a single guy with his own apartment who always has his phone or computer within reach. i'm not.

my house is a family of four (me, the beautiful wife, a couple pre-teen boys) with a large common area filled with lots of traffic and commotion. the kids don't have phones. my wife and i have phones and computers, but they're not always in reach. whether she's making everyone's lunches in the morning, i'm playing munchkin with the boys, she's helping them with homework, i'm washing dishes after dinner, etc. -- it's rarely convenient (not to mention the poor social etiquette around the dinner table) to whip out a phone and do any 60-seconds-or-more task. with a family, you are kind of forced to be fully engaged most of the time.

this means we use the heck out of the amazon echo for the shopping list (also the music player, weather check, and timers for the boys) out of pure, unadulterated convenience.

in a busy household, it may sound cliche, but it's EXTREMELY convenient to just say "alexa, add sandwich bags to the shopping list" and the like while you're elbow-deep into putting away leftovers.

but having a free, physical button that magically reorders trash bags or detergent or paper towels placed in the very location where you would consume such things? magical!

because, again, in a busy household there are about a thousand other things you need to get to by the time you notice "oh, we're almost out of toilet paper" and inevitably, you'll catch yourself standing in costco next week trying to remember all the things you were almost out of.

and these are just the benefits to me -- for tide? this seems like a huge opportunity for brand lock-in and is probably even a joint venture between them and amazon.